The walls come crumbling down
by mandyem92
Summary: When on another planet Daniel is badly hurt. Vala is forced to deal with her feelings for Daniel as his life slowly begins to slip away. She is faced with the reality that she may have missed her one chance...DV fluff...Unending spoiler in chap. 8
1. What hit them hard

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANY OF THE STARGATE CHARACTERS OTHER THAN LAYLYNN**

**CHAPTER 1: WHAT HIT THEM HARD**

It all happened so fast. She wasn't sure what hit them, literally. She blinked a couple of times till her eyes focused. Through the dust and soot she could see that a section of the wall Daniel had been studying had collapsed.

_"Daniel!"_ Her mind screamed out as it gripped reality. She quickly scrambled to her feet. She felt a sharp pain in her ankle. _"Sprained, hopefully."_ She looked down to see it was swollen. _"God fucking damn it." _She limped over to where Daniel was supposed to be. The dust began to settle and her blood ran cold at the sight in front of her. Daniel was laying on his back, his body from his stomach down was covered in rubble. His right arm lay above his head, one covering his eyes. Her trembling hand lifted up his left arm away from his face. His eyes were closed and his one lens was shattered. She prayed, though she really had no idea to who or how, for him to be alive. _"Please. Please. Please! Breathe Daniel...for me..." I_

She took a deep breath, and with her shaking hand she touched his neck. She practically jumped from the kneeling position she was in next to Daniel when she felt his pulse. She released a heavy sigh and rested her forehead on his chest, letting a few tears drip down her cheeks. She settles next to time and waited patiently, something that she's never been able to do before, for him to awaken.

As she sat there she could feel the pain radiating from her swollen ankle. She let her mind wander back to beginning of the day, thankful that she could remember what had happened.

**I know, I know, it's short, but I wanted the flashback in a different chapter. I'll post it as soon as I finish typing it. Hope you like it so far. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I always ALWAYS love suggestiongs for upcoming chapters**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	2. Flashback

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANY OF THE STARGATE CHARACTERS OTHER THAN LAYLYNN**

**Chapter 2: Flashbacks**

"Why do we have to be here?"

"WEdon't have to be here. I do. You tagged along because, well I don't know why. You could have stayed in town with Sam and the others. In fact it would make my job easier if you did." Daniel grunted at Vala as he continued to study the carving on the wall in front of him.

"What? You don't like my company? Now I'm offended."

"Good." He retorted.

"I don't want to hang around the town hall with Sam, Mitchell and Teal'c. They're stuck talking to that Laylynn dude, and he creeps me out a bit. I mean first off, the clothes that he and the people wear is just plain weird. Plus, everything he says sounds like it's coming out of a book that Sam would have on her bookshelf...or a...uhm...what is it called? Oh, yeah a textbook. He talks like a textbook. I'd be bored out of my mind. By the way, what is your job exactly?" Vala began rambling. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"I'm studying the scripts, artifacts and carvings to determine their history, since them know nothing of how they got here. We've ruled out the Goa'ulds and the Asgards. Their technology is slightly primitive, which makes me think that maybe the Ancients, since all the other Ancient planets have been so far behind technologically."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. You know, someone once said 'The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.' So why bother who brought them here. Yeah, they care, but it's not going to change anything."

"First off, that person, was Einstein. And so what. If where going by what people have said then fine. Oscar Wilde once said 'One's past is what one is. It is the only way by which people should be judged.'"

"Who the hell is Oscar Wilde?"

"An irish poet." Daniel answered, still engrossed in the carvings.

"So, Einstein was a scientist-dude. He's more important than some poet. No one looks to poets for advice."

"Einstein was clinically insane. As smart as he was in academics, I wouldn't take what he says about life to heart."

"Whatever." Vala rolled her eyes and sat on a rock on the other side of the cave.

There was a three minute break of silence. Daniel knew he had to take full advantage of it because he knew with Vala, it wouldn't last long. And he was right. Vala let out a sigh of boredom as loud as her small body would let her. When Daniel didn't respond, she sighed again. And again. "Stop that."

"No. I'm bored out of my mind."

"Then go outside and bother someone else."

Vala say this remark as a chance to piss Daniel off and pick on him. "No. It's more funnier to bother you than anyone else."

"More funnier is just plain god-awful grammar. It makes you sound stupid and un-educated. Which most people will believe by talking to you, if only for a short time."

"Ouch Daniel. That hurt." The bicker continued between the two of them till Daniel snapped, something that Vala knew was coming soon and was waiting for it.

"Oh my god Vala enough! Do you ever shut up?!? Could you please give me some peace and quiet for just five fucking minutes! I'm down to the last god damn line!" Vala struggled to suppress her giggles. She loved pissing him off. She loved how his eyes glowed and his eyebrows furrowed. At the thought of how Daniel looked Vala studied Daniel closer. She liked the way he looked, right now, intensely staring at the wall. His sleeves were rolled up to his shoulders, showing off his fine-toned muscles. Sweat glistened off his arms. His face was dusted slightly with dirt. His black shirt clung to his body from the sweat and showed each definded muscle on his chest and stomache.

'God, it's hot in here." Vala said as she fanned herself, staring closely at Daniel's body. The cave itself was stifling. Thoguh Vala was just sitting, she was sweating as much as Daniel was.

"Yeah, I know." Dnaiel muttered back. Vala noticed he glanced at her quickly but looked away as soon as Vala caught him. Man, did she want him to look at her again. His ice blue eyes seemed to pull her in, threating to never let her go. She decided to piss him off some more, just to get him to look at her again.

It worked. They started yelling about such trivial things, that nether really kept track of what they were talking about.

Suddenly, the cave began to shake. Vala thought she was imagining things. It stopped as quickly as it started. Suddenly, it started again, harder than before.

The wall began to quake. Without thinking, Daniel shoved Vala, who was standing near him, out of the way of the now deteriorating wall. He quickly began to step backwards at the same time. He prayed that he could move before the wall fell, trapping him underneath. As the top of the wall fell onto him, fear and shock pinning him to where he was standing, he stole a quick glance at Vala, who had fallen on the the ground from his shove. The second before the wall pushed him to the ground, Daniel's last thought was that Vala was okay. He threw his hands up, covering his face as his body hit the ground, a shock of pain running through every ince of his body. He didn't realize at the time, but if he hadn't taken that single step backwards, the rubble would have covered him up to his chin, killing him instantly.

**Okay, so I hope this was a little better in terms of length. Working on the next chapter already! Hope you're liking it so far. _REMEMBER TO REVIEW AND ADD SUGGESTIONS!!!  
_~*mandyem92*~**


	3. Hurting

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANY OF THE STARGATE CHARACTERS OTHER THAN LAYLYNN**

**CHAPTER 3: HURTING**

**~~There are some parts of the first 2 chapters that could have gone a little better, yeah I know. Oh and Hearty1, yeah I know, there is a medkit and a radio...I thought with Vala she'd probably worry about Daniel before actually thinking about that they had with them. I'm not saying she's dumb, but I think she doesn't always think logically at first. I'm going to try to really think the chapters through I little better, maybe re-post the story so I can change up a few things here and there.~~**

Valaonly had to wait for a minute before Daniel began to awaken. "Daniel." Vala muttered softly as she felt Daniel shift next to her.

"Uhhh..." Daniel moaned. His eyes fluttered open. He squinted slightly, trying to force them to focus through the haze he was experiencing. Moments later his eyes roamed over to Vala, the pain in his eyes seeming to fade away as he looked into her eyes. "Vala..."

She placed her hand gently on his cheek. He turned his head to face Vala, pressing his face against her hand. She began pulling it away, worried that Daniel would be upset by the gesture.

"Please, don't." His eyes closed again as his whole body shook from a fit of coughs that took him over. A small amount of bloodslipped out of his mouth and onto the ground. "Internal bleeding. I...ne-need to get...out of here.. ge-get Sam. The radio...i-in my bag...." Daniel said through gritted teeth as a wave of pain crashed over his body.

_"CRAP!" _Vala scolded her self internally for not thinking of the radio in the first place. She limped over to the entrance of the cave, sighing as she saw that it was closed off by rubble. She rummaged through the bag till she found the radio and the Med-kit. She ran, well more like wobbled, back over to Daniel, kneeling next to him. She glanced down, noticing the pool of blood seeping out from under the rocks where Daniel's hip was located. Daniel took the Advil and water that Vala gave him, coughing as the water dripped down his dry throat.

"Your ankel...you should wrap it." He glanced down at her swollen ankle. Vala was taken back by his concern for her health while he was one stuck under the rocks.

"Worry about yourself." She said as she grabbed the radio and pressed the call button, hoping the signal would go through.

"Well, there's no-nothing I can...do for my-myself..." He said, coughing again afterwards. He let his eyes close as he heard Sam's voice crack through the radio.

"Carter."

"Sam, it's Vala."

"Are you guys okay? Laylynn said the earthquakes hit the caves the worse."

"No, we're not. Daniel is hurt."

"How bad?"

Valatook a deep breath before talking again, hoping it would help calm her shaking voice. "It's not good. He's pinned down under some ruins. There's blood pooling around him already."

"Okay. We'll be there right away. Is the entrance to the cave covered?"

"Yeah." Vala'svoice hitched as she saw that Daniel was getting paler by the minute.

"We'll bring some machines and people over the start digging. I'll send a message for a med team to come through."

"Thanks. And Sam, hurry." Vala whispered.

"We will." Sam answered as she began running towards the town hall exit with Mitchell and Teal'c in tow.

"Daniel..." Vala whispered as she brushed some of the hair off of Daniel's face and removed his broken glasses.

"Don't...lo-lose...those" Daniel muttered as he opened his eyes, a little smile gracing his face.

"Your bleeding to death and you're worried about losing your glasses? Daniel I could lose you!"

"You're n-not going to...lose me...I te-tend to...be th-the one who...loses the p-people he...loves...n-not you."

"Oh, Daniel." A tear ran down Vala'sface. She watched Daniel cringe as the pain intensified. As his eyes drifted closed again Vala leaned close to his face, kissed him gently on the forehead and whispered into his ear, "I love you too." Tears began pouring down her face freely, not caring to wipe them away or try to hold them back.

"Good." Daniel answered slowly as he slipped into unconsciousness.

For the next couple of minutes Vala quietly sat, every once and awhile replacing the wet cloth on Daniel's face with another wetter and colder one. To say that those minutes felt like hours would be an understatement. More like an eternity. Soon she heard the radio next to her crackle.

"Vala, it's Cam. How close to the entrance are you?"

"A good 3 or 4 yards away."

"Good. We're going to use some of their machinery to loosen the rocks. If that doesn't work we may have to use low-grade explosives. Hopefully we won't have to."

"Why not? Wouldn't be quicker?"

"Yeah, but it could loosen more rubble in there, hurting you as well and adding to Daniel's problem." Mitchell answered quickly.

Vala heard the rumbling of the machines coming to life. She looked down at Daniel who still hadn't regained consciousness. She stared at the entrance and back at Daniel for a few moments hoping for anyone to tell her how it was going outside. She needed to hear them say that the machines were working, that the rubble was almost gone and that they wouldn't have to use explosives. Finally after five minutes of continuous noise the cave was engulfed with a haunting silence. Vala closed her eyes, waiting for her answer. Soon she heard a voice from the radio.

"Vala, it's Sam..."

**SRRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER. I NEED TO REVISE THE NEXT PART A BIT. I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO POST. I PROMISE I'LL ADDED SOME TOMORROW. PLEASE REVIEW!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	4. Breaking through

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANY OF THE STARGATE CHARACTERS OTHER THAN LAYLYNN**

**CHAPTER 4: BREAKING THROUGH**

"Their machines, they aren't working. The rubble is too heavy."

"What?! Too heavy!?!? I can lift some of the fucking rubble myself. Teal'c could probably lift half of them"

Sam's voice lowered to the point that Vala almost couldn't hear her.

"I know. They refuse to let us use the explosives. Something about ruining the, well, ruins."

"They're already ruined!!!!" Vala screamed over the radio.

"I know. We'll figure something out. I promise."

"I told Daniel there was something wrong with these god damn people."

"We'll fix it. I promise." Sam whispered over the radio.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

OUTSIDE THE CAVE

"I'm sorry. Honestly. I wish we could get the machine to lift them." Laylynn answered, no remorse heard in his voice. Laylynn stole a quick glance at his men working the machines. One of them began fiddling with the machine again, pushing some buttons and turning the machine off.

"It helped you build your town hall, but can't lift these rocks?"

"I wish it would. I have no idea why it will not lift them. Maybe the shape. I can truly say that I have no idea why it isn't working.'

Cam looked over that the three men standing by the machine, all of them staring at their feet, a look of guilt across all their faces. Suddenly, something clicked inside of Mitchell's head. His entire demeanour changed. His body stiffened and his eyes scanned over Laylynn, then his people. Suddenly, without any warning he pulled out his gun and pointed it inches away from Laylynn's head.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Cam said, trying hard not to lose his temper too much that he'd snap.

"He can not discover what those carvings say, they will ruin the relationship are planets are forming." Laylynn answered calmly. Anyone could see his nerves getting to him, the anxiety showing in his eyes.

"Then why did you let him go in?" Cam asked through gritted teeth.

"You would have been suspicious."

"Like we aren't now." Sam muttered.

"Please. I'm sorry. Our people need your medical technology." Laylynn's voice was laced with irritation, as if he was expecting them to know all this already.

"Make the machines work. Now!" Cam knew he was on the verge of losing his cool.

Laylynn looked to his men and nodded. They pressed a few buttons and the crystals on each side began glowing a brighter white than before. One by one the stones began moving away from the entrance.

"There. Now please drop your gun."

"Hell no. Not until Daniel is safely through the gate." Mitchell said as he pointed to the cave with his head.

"He will be. But I must insist that his notes stay here."

"Why? Our planet's ties are officially over. You think I'm going to suggest our government continue to work with you after this? What we find out isn't going to change any of this. If it's worth killing over, I think we'd want to know." Sam pipped in, hoping that her interruption would give Mitchell time to cool off.

Laylynn glanced over at his men, making a stern face and then nodding to something off in the distance.

"Hey! What was that look for? I've been around enough military people to know you just told them to do something that you don't want us to know. Call them off."

Laylynn stared intensely at Mitchell, waiting for him to break.

"I'm not against the idea of putting a bullet through your brain. In fact I would love to do just that right now."

Laylynn closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. He wasn't exactly keen with the notion of getting shot. He opened his eyes and looked at Mitchell. The intensity in his eyes sent chills down his spine.

"Fine. Just get your people and get out of here." Laylynn nodded at his men who continued working the machine. Mitchell lowered his gun, pointing it at his shins. If Laylynn changed his mind, Mitchell was going to make sure he wouldn't be able to walk away from them.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

INSIDE THE CAVE-  
While Cam's conversation is going on...

Vala, in anger, threw the radio across the cave, hearing a satisfying CRUNCH as it broke apart. She glanced over at the heap of wires and plastic. _That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do._

Daniel moaned in pain, grabbing Vala's attention. She scrambled over to him with the water bottle and Advil that was placed next to her.

"Hey, you're awake. Don't ever do that again. You scared me. I thought I lost you. Please don't leave me like that again." Vala said quickly in one big breath.

"Shhh." Daniel tried to calm Valadown. He placed his hand on her cheek, using his thumb too push away a stray tear that had fallen. "I'm not...going an-anywhere. I-I'm the one...stuck...y-you know." Daniel said as Vala let out a soft laugh, letting a smile grace her face, if only for a moment. She closed her eyes and placed her hand over Daniel's.

"You shouldn't be comforting me. I'm supposed to be doing that for you."

"Is...ar-arguing all...y-you do?" Daniel laughed followed by a fit of coughing, causing more blood to come out of his mouth. "Vala...I l-love you...And I-I'm not saying...thi-this be-because of this...situation. I al-always have. I-I've pushed you a-away be-because I'm terrified o-of...losing you. Everyone...I ge-get close...to leaves me. I-I'd rather...have you here...and a-at a distance...then n-not at all." Daniel's voice slowly fell in volume, but never wavered in it's intensity.

"I'm not leaving you Daniel. Ever. And dammit you better not leave me. I love you too. And you know I always have." She leaned down a placed a soft yet sensual and deep kiss on his lips. Daniel lifted his head up slightly to meet her, intensifying the kiss.

When the broke away Daniel smiled. "I-I've been waiting...for that...for aw-while." Suddenly a new, more intense wave of pain rushed over his body. His whole body convulsed in pain. He squeezed Vala's hand tightly, trying desperately to not scream out in pain. His eyes closed as a small yell came out of his mouth. His grip on Vala's hand began to weaken. Vala's panic level rose to new heights as she felt him get colder.

"Daniel..." She shook him, gasping at how limp he had become. "Daniel! DANIEL!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring if the people outside could hear her. Tears began streaming down her face, her body shaking with each sob. She heard something on the other side of the cave, but didn't seem to care. She slowly fell into a state of shock and emptiness.

Fresh air suddenly ran through the entire cave. She heard people yelling behind her, soon followed by footsteps. She didn't care. Nothing mattered. Only Daniel. She stared at him blankly. The noises around her never registered in her head.

**The next chapter is already half done, so you won't have to wait long for it. I had written this chapter completely, starting with the machines working, but it justed didn't fit well. So I threw it out and rewrote the chapter. That's why it took me till now to finally post it. Sorry it's not long. I have a hard time finding enough time to write a long enough chapter without leaving you guys hanging forever.**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND ADD SUGGESTIONS!!!!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	5. Aftermath

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANY OF THE STARGATE CHARACTERS OTHER THAN LAYLYNN**

**CHAPTER 5: AFTER MATH**

_Everything was black. Not a single spec of light could be found. She could hear someone screaming in pain. Daniel. With a great flash of light the cave came into view. Daniel was laying there, eyes open and lifeless, staring blankly at Vala._

_"NO!" She screamed, but no sound came out. She reached to touch him, but he seemed to move farther away each time._

_A globe of white hovered over his body, with another great flash that threw Vala onto her back, Daniel's body was gone. All that was lying under the heap of rocks were his clothes._

_"No. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. You're not supposed to leave me. You promised. Bring him back. Now!!!" She screamed upwards at whoever might be listening. She was answered by a cold, heartless silence._

Suddenly she was screaming She shot up from the bed, gasping for air. She glanced around her as she heard someone running towards her. Sam had lead her to the infirmary without her even being aware of it. _Just a dream _she reassured herself. Seconds later Sam was at her side, her hands placed gently on her shoulders. This light and caring touch was enough to finally break Vala. She began sobbing, her body shaking violently.

Sam pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her friend.

"Sam, I almost lost him." She looked into Sam's eyes, waiting to be reassured that she really hadn't. "Sam? Is he okay? Can I see him?"

"When he is out of surgery." Sam answered quickly, diverting her eyes.

"But, but he's going to be okay, right?"

"There's a lot of damage to his spine and hips. If he survives the surgery there's a good chance he won't be able to walk again." Sam answered reluctantly. She didn't want to be the one to have to tell Vala all of this.

"Wh-what do you mean 'if he survives?' He's going to pull through. He has to."

"Vala…"

"No!" She cut Sam off. "He'll be fine."

"He lost so much blood. The…"

"I said he'll be fine." Vala interjected again through gritted teeth. She turned her back to Sam and curled into a ball.

Sam Stood up and took a step away from her. "You're probably right." She muttered, hoping that Vala wouldn't detect the fact that Sam was on the verge of tears. She knew she needed to stay strong for her. Sam walked to the door, then turned around, leaning heavily on the door frame. She studied Vala's body, curled up and shaking from crying. "I hope you're right. For your sake. I hope you're right." She whispered as she turned to find Caroline to tell her Vala was awake. She knew she would want to make sure she was okay, mentally as well as physically."

**Sorry this chapter is so unbelieveable short. My computer crashed on me big time. So I'm using my sis's computer...which I'm extremely greatful for...so, I have no idea when I'll be able to post. So I just thought I'd throw up a quick chapter so I wouldn't leave you guys hanging. Hopefully she'll let me use her computer again tomorrow and I'll have chapter 6 up. LOVE THE REVIEWS...KEEP THEM COMING!!!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	6. Translation

JUST REPOSTING BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE WERE HAVING TROUBLE ACCESSING IT...I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY THOUGH???

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANY OF THE STARGATE CHARACTERS OTHER THAN LAYLYNN**

**CHAPTER 6: TRANSLATION**

"How's the surgery going?" Vala asked Cam as she walked into the debriefing room that him, Sam and Teal'c were all sitting in. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy, indicative of someone who had just spent the last one hour half crying half sleeping.

"Still going." Sam answers as she looks over at Cam.

"We're waiting for SG-3 to come back with Daniel's notes. They stayed behind to uncover them by hand. Since Laylynn wouldn't cooperate." Cam informed Vala on the conversation outside the cave. She sat quietly, taking it all in. Her face changed from confusion to disgusted as soon as Cam informed her about their reasoning behind tampering with the machine.

She gripped the edge of the table till her knuckles turned white.

"We would all quite enjoy returning to the planet and giving Laylynn and his people a well deserved beat-down, but General already nixed the idea. In fact, the planet is off limits to all of SG-1."

"I believe repaying one physical action with another is not the best approach." Teal'c responded.

"Yeah, well I really don't care about what's right and wrong. They didn't play fair, so why should we."

Vala nodded, wanting desperately to go through the gate again to deal with Laylynn herself. Her urge to beat him up became too much for her and she jumped out of her chair and walked to the door.

"Vala…" Cam warned her as a parent would warn their child seconds before they do something wrong.

"I really don't care if I get in trouble. I'm not going to let them get away with it. Besides, if I do it, I'll be punished less than you guys since I'm new and all." She finished with a slightly evil smile. Cam had to admit that she was right, but he knew they'd all be in trouble for not stopping her. Not that he would stop her anyway. He'd love to be there when she beat Laylynn up.

Before Vala even had time to make it out the door the gate activated. Over the loud speaker the arrival of SG-3 was announced. Vala let out a sigh. She wanted so badly to go through the gate, but wanted to know what they were hiding more. She sat back in her seat, making as much noise as possible to show her aggravation. Sam said a little thank you in her head, happy that she wouldn't have to be the one to stop Vala.

A few minutes later a man in SG uniform opened the door and stepped in far enough to reach Sam who was sitting closest to him.

"Dr. Jackson's notes." A lieutenant announced, exiting and closing the door as soon as Sam had a grip on the papers. She slowly opened the manila folder, staring at the charcoal copies of the ruins that Daniel had made.

"Go ahead." Cam urged her on.

She scanned them quickly."A war was started 400 years ago. Lower class against the Entas. The upper class teamed with the Entas who stated that the lower population were not 'loyal' and worshipped a single false god. The Entas said they shouldn't be trusted with anything. Daniel translated the name 'Entas' as 'The Chosen Gods.' The lower people were brutally murdered for their 'wrongs that have angered their gods.' They were almost wiped out completely only five months into the war."

She paused to look up at everyone, noting that they were all staring at the table-top. She noticed Valas face was scrunched, as if she was trying to deal with something. She wondered if Vala was even listening. She continued summarizing his notes.

"Daniel thinks the Entas are in fact the Ori since they are continuously associated with fire. Eventually the upper class people overthrew the Entas but continued the genocide of the lower class people, worried that if they didn't they would become a threat again."

"Great. So we've got a genocide started by the Ori. We have to stop it." Cam responded when Sam stopped reading.

"We can't interfer."

"It's not morally right."

"Cam..." Sam wasn't able to finish since Vala cut her off, her voice meek and soft. "Is there anything else?" Vala asked.

"No." Sam answered, confused as to why Vala had suddenly lost her anger.

"I'm going to go check on Daniel. See if Carolyn has any good news." She quickly left, not bothering to hear what anyone else had to say.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Vala walked to the infirmary slowly. She needed to think. She didn't want to hear Cam and Sam arguing. She just wanted to deal with her anger. While Sam was reading, she was arguing with herself about whether or not to really go through the gate. She had a feeling Daniel wouldn't be happy if she did. _Why didn't Daniel react while he was translating the ruins? Was he not surprised at all? Did he except it or something? _

She had been sort of listening to what Sam had been saying. She caught the words 'war' 'genocide' and 'Ori' and honestly that was all she wanted to hear. She knew if she had listened closely and listened to them arguing she would have just lost it. She had to keep her temper down. She needed to focus on Daniel.

She would go through the gate and give Laylynn a piece of her mind as soon as Daniel was awake. She reassured herself that she wasn't running away from the problem, just prioritizing. She pushed her anger to the back of her head, waiting to unleash it as soon as she was infront of Laylynn. _You wait you son-of-a-bitch. Just wait till I get my hands on you._

She didn't realize that she was at the room that Daniel was supposed to be in till she almost walked past it. She saw a nurse walk out of the room and ran over to her.

"How is he?"

"Better than expected. He's no where near stable though. The sugery will be done in a hour or so. He'll survive. We're just not sure how well..." The nurse trailed off.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll there's a chance of paralysis, brain damage..." She stopped again as she saw Vala's eyes beginning to water. "He'll survive. I promise you. You can see him as soon as he's stable and in a room." She gave Vala a small smile than walked away, leaving a nervous and shaken Vala in the hallways by herself.

_Oh fuck it. I'm dealing with Laylynn now!_ She wasn't happy with the fact that she let her anger take over. _So much for changing my ways_. She told herself as she ran to the gate room.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

She was greeted by Sam and Teal'c when she reached the room above gate room.

"Vala..." Sam started. "I'll dial, but just know that I'm not backing you up. The General will find out."

"I'm perfectly okay with that." Vala grabbed her gear and ran to the gate room. She smiled at the soldiers guarding the gate, who answered her with a nod and a smile. They glanced up at Sam and nodded at her. Sam began dialing out.

General Laundry came running as soon as he heard the gate activating. By the time he reached the room where Sam was Vala was already running through the gate.

He glanced at Sam, then Mitchell.

"We tried to stop her, honestly. But she has a mind of her own. You know that." Sam responded in a fake, innocent voice that even a stranger would be able to see through it.

"If her actions cause problems for us here on earth..."

"I highly doubt that sir." Mitchell interrupted. The General glanced around at the rest of SG-1 before shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but...I'll let this go...For now! She'll be suspended for a week when she gets back. Just, make sure she actually does come back." With that General Laundry walked out of the room. Sam, Teal'c and Mitchell all looked back at the gate, thinking the same thing.

_Hopefully she will come back okay._

**Okay, so now I'm using whoevers computer I can get my hands on. LOVE THE REVIEWS!! Hoping my computer will be fixed soon so that I can put up longer chapters. Sorry the last two have been so short. I tried to stay in character for Vala, but it was a little harder than I thought. Still, I hope you liked it either way. Keep the reviews coming!!!!**

**~*m**a**ndyem92*~**


	7. Beat down

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN ANY OF THE STARGATE CHARACTERS OTHER THAN LAYLYNN**

**CHAPTER 7: Beat down**

**My computer is still down, so the next chapter won't be up for awhile. SRRY!!!**

Vala walked through the gate, stumbling a bit as she stepped on the uneven ground. A dull ache radiated from her sprained ankle and she steadied herself.

_Crap. So much for the pain meds lasting long enough._

She began walking forward, not really sure where she was going.

_I really wish I was paying attention when we first came here._ She scolded herself for never paying attention, ever. She continued to walk in the direction she was going in till a large, off-white, doom-shaped roof came into sight.

As the rest of the building came into view she picked up her pace.

She reached the edge of the town and ducked behind a tree. At this point she was wishing someone came with her. She hadn't really thought any of this through. How the hell was she supposed to find Laylynn? How was she going to get out? She wished someone would just point the way for her.

She looked up at the building again. Movement from a window on the second floor caught her attention. She could make out Laylynn pacing in front of his window, muttering to himself. He looked worried and nervous. Vala smiled at her luck, wondering how long he'd stay up there.

In a second Vala thought her entire plan through. Well, maybe not all of it. She sort of skipped over the part of the plan where she actually escapes. It didn't seem important at the time. She waited for about an hour, something she hadn't done since she she made a living stealing valuables. But to her it seemed like mere minutes. Finally Laylynn left his office and Vala sprinted silently to the side of the building. She picked up a rock and threw it at the window, knocking most of the glass onto the floor. She slowly made her way up the wall, thankful that it was made entirely out of rocks, giving her edges to grab onto.

When she finally pulled herself carefully through the window, making sure not to cut herself on the few pieces of glass left behind, she settled into Laylynn's office chair, turning it to the window. She waited for a short while till Laylynn returned.

**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**

The door swung open violently and the lights flashed on. Vala spun the chair around and practically leaped out of it. Laylynn let out a yelp, "You scared me." His hand was on his chest in an attempt to slow his heart rate. "Who are you?"

"You don't remember me? Because I sure as hell remember you?" Vala said as she walked closer.

In one fluid movement Vala round-house kicked him, sending him to the ground. She walked over to him, stepping harshly on his throat, listening to the satisfying sound of him gasping for air. As the realization of who she was washed over his face she heard him squeak out some sort of profanity, though she wasn't quite sure which one nor did she care. She lessened the pressure on his neck just enough to keep him conscious. She leaned closer, "You tried to killed me and Daniel, in the cave," her voice dripping with poison.

"I...I'm sorry!" Laylynn barely got out before Vala took her foot her his neck and kicked him with all her force on his side. Vala watched him curl up slightly as her foot made contact with the side of his rib cage. She heard him scream out in pain but continued to kick him, each kick building in power.

"How" _KICK_ "dare" _KICK _"you!" _KICK _"You" _KICK_ "have" _KICK_ "no" _KICK _"right" _KICK _"to..." She stopped as she heard the pounding of footsteps down the hall. She glanced down quickly at the barely conscious heap on the floor that was Laylynn. She wasn't nowhere near satisfied with her punishment since he was still conscious and moving but she couldn't afford to get caught. _Dammit. _She thought to herself as she ran out the office door and down the hallway. She glanced behind her as she turned the first corner, seeing the shadows of the people on the wall behind her.

She began pulling and twisting doorknobs as she ran, hoping she could hide in one of them.

Locked. Each and every one of them.

She turned another corner, wondering how many corners there could possible be in one building. She began panicking as she heard the footsteps getting louder. She yanked on the first door on her left and was taken back when it opened quickly with her pull.

_Oh thank god! _She jumped into it quickly and locked the door just as the men began turning the corner. The room was pitch black, making Vala's nerves run higher than before. Something grazed her head. She swung at it violently and rather stupidly thinking it was some sort of bug. When she finally calmed down she realized it was the string to turn on the lights. _I have to stop over-reacting. _She pulled the string and the lights slowly began to flicker. _I need to stop overreacting_ She thought as the lights finally clicked on. She glanced around herself, finally being able to take in her surroundings. _Crap...It's a closet. Well it'll do. I guess. Eventually I'll have to come out of this closet. _She stopped and let out a giggle, rethinking her last statement. Though she didn't know as much about Earth and their customs as she'd like to, she did know a few of their jokes and sayings. _Great, now I'm cracking myself up while Daniel is laying on a hospital bed. Focus. Get out. Go back to Daniel. Get out. Go back to Daniel. _She let out a calming breath and waited a minute before sticking her head out

Clear. She began running as silently as she could down the hallway in the direction she was running in before. She came to a stop when she was forced to choose to either go left or right. Before she could decide which was to go something came flying through the window in front of her. _Some sort of climbing equipment. _She looked down at the hook that was laying among the broken glass. She followed the rope down and was surprised to see Cam at the bottom, standing underneath the window.

"Hey! I found you!" Cam whispered upwards as loud as he could.

"What do you mean, you found me? I knew damn well where I was!" She answered back angrily. It wasn't that she was mad at Cam or what he said. She was just peeved at the fact that she didn't think to climb out of the window herself.

"Well, we got worried. You were taking a little too long for Landry's liking. He let me come look for you. I assumed you'd be somewhere in here. Now, come on, get down here and let's leave before they catch us." Vala shimmed down the ropes quickly like a pro, which Cam assumed she probably was.

"By the way, Landry said he has to reprimand you for disobeying orders. So, you're suspended for a week. Which really isn't a punishment since you'll be taking off more than just one week to take of Daniel anyway. Or at least, I'm assuming you are." Vala nodded quickly as if it was a stupid comment to make. "Anyway, speaking of Daniel, they've stabilized him and he should wake up in two hours or so. And..." Before he could finish the last part of his little 'speech' Vala began running towards the gate, leaving Cam behind her, trying to keep up. She slowed down quickly afterwards when the pain in her ankle became to much to bare. The dull pain from the beginning of her little trip became a sharp shooting pain. She had been so caught up with Laylynn that she had become completely unaware of her ankle and the pain that was radiating from it till now.

**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**

She tapped her foot impatiently while Cam dialed Earth and the IDC. Though it barely took a minute Vala felt like it took hours. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Daniel to even be aware of how much time was really was passing. She worried that Daniel would somehow wake up before she got there. Suddenly the fact that she left Daniel started to eat at her. She couldn't believe she left him just to deal with that piece of dirt Laylynn.

"You gonna tell Daniel about this little 'adventure'?" Cam asked as the wormhole activated.

"No and neither will anyone else." Vala snapped back as she walked through the gate.

"Damn. Sorry for asking." Cam said to himself before following Vala through the gate.

**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**

**Sorry. I had to add a bit of humor. My sister, the one who let me borrow her computer, was helping me come up with a way for Vala to escape and her suggestion was hiding in a closet. **

**Her exact words were "She runs around, finds a door that opens. Goes in a realizes 'Crap. it's a closet' then she waits till they run past her and then she just leaves."**

**I thought it was a good suggestion, you know, to add some humor to a serious story. Hope it wasn't too pathetic. And the closet joke wasn't original a joke. I typed to and when I read over it I realized what I wrote and had to add the part where Vala giggled because I was hysterically laughing after I realized I wrote it. KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING!!!**

**IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING MY SIS IS THE AUTHOR: vash60billiondoubledollar**

**CHECK HER OUT PLEASE!!!  
**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	8. Recovering

**FINALLY! THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! SORRY YOU GUYS HAD TO WAIT SO LONG!!!!! I posted it like a few seconds ago, but had to remove it because there was one serious typo that made NO SENSE whatsoever...so sorry if u got 2 notices about chapter 8...**

**Chapter 8: Recovering**

She stood quietly, leaning up against the door frame of Daniel's room.

"You're not going to hurt him by getting closer you know?" Dr. Lam said as she walked over to Vala's side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know. I'm just scared, that's all." She let out a long sigh. "I feel like if I touch him he'll break. He looks so...frail, just laying there." Vala blinked a couple of times; trying to hold back the few tears that were attempting to escape.

"He'll be okay. He's recovering fine. We can't tell for certain if the damage to his spine has caused any permanent paralysis or not. Vala. He needs you now more than ever. Go sit with him at least." With that Dr. Lam turned and walked away, knowing she couldn't force Vala to walk in there. Vala knew that once she came face to face with Daniel, she would have to face everything that happened in the cave. She was terrified he wasn't going to be the same. That he was going to take back everything that was said. If she stayed away she wouldn't have to face that rejection.

She looked at his face, his eyes closed and his mouth relaxed. He hadn't woken up from the surgery yet. Suddenly the thought of Daniel waking up with no one at his side to comfort him crossed her mind, finally convincing her to entire the room. She stopped short of the bed, taking in everything in front of her.

Daniel's body was covered in scratches and bruises. His hands were scabbed and raw. His tanned arms had deep scratches up and down the length of him, most bandaged up. Her hands began shaking as she reached up a touched his cheek. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth when she felt the warmth of his cheeks. All she could think about was how cold he felt in the cave; how she thought he was gone. She let her hand linger on his cheek, relishing in its heat that was letting her know he was alive.

She grabbed his hand and held onto it, drawing small circles with her finger on the back of it. She stared at their hands. Out of all the times Vala had envisioned them holding hands and kissing, this was not the way she ever expected it to happen.

She thought of walking down the halls of the SGC and their hands brushing each other. Then Daniel would subtly take her hand in his and never let go. She pictured them having a picnic, lying underneath a tree, Daniel placing sweet kisses up her neck and on her lips. She imagined them sitting in front of a fire somewhere, Daniel's arms wrapped around her, keeping her warm and secure. She pictured her lying on top of him, her head resting on his bare chest, her fingers playing with his hair. She saw Daniel lifting her chin up and passionately kissing her as his hands roamed over her body. Every dream, every thought, every fantasy was perfect in her head. None ever involved Daniel getting hurt. None ever ended with Daniel almost dying. None ever ended with Daniel battered and bruised lying in a hospital bed. And yet, when she finally got her wish, when Daniel finally admitted that he loved her, they all did. Each and every one of them. Nothing she could do would ever change that.

She never noticed the Jack walk into the room or the rest of SG-1.

"Vala..." Sam decided to be the first to break the silence.

"Hey." She answered, quickly dropping Daniel's hand. "Jack…" She was taken back to see Jack O'Neill standing next to her. "What are you doing here?"

"My best friend just went through some serious shit and you don't think I'd come running over as soon as I heard?!" Jack was obviously hurt by her question.

"Jack…don't" Sam whispered in his ear. It was then that Jack noticed that Vala was no longer looking at him, but back at Daniel, her eyes tearing up.

"Vala, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…Danny will pull through. He's pulled through worse."

"Yeah. He'll be fine." Cam added.

"No. Last time and the time before that he ascended. He seems to make a habit out of it." She tried to hide her fear that he'd leave that way again. She didn't want them to know how much she was hurting.

"Vala. He would never, NEVER, put you through that. He loves you too much." Sam interjected.

"I too agree with Samantha Carter. I can guarantee that thing will indeed work out with you and Daniel Jackson." Teal'c added.

"Teal'c…how can you…?" Teal'c cut Vala off before she was able to ask her question.

"When we were stuck on the Odyssey. Though that timeline was much different than ours is now I do believe that you and Daniel will be happy together as you were then." He explained with a slight nod of his head as if he was agreeing with his own statement.

"See? Everything will be fine. Maybe you should get some rest?" Jack said as he turned to leave.

"Not till Daniel wakes up and I know he's not going to up and disappear in some flash of light."

"It was more like an orb, but that doesn't matter. He won't." Jack nudged Cam telling him that it was time for them to leave and give Vala some time alone. Sam hesitated, worrying about leaving her friend alone in the state that she was in. Jack gently tugged Sam out of the room. "We'll check in later. You better be sleeping." Jack added as they all left the room.

**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-ONE HOUR LATER**

She sat, still holding his hand, counting down the minutes. Her eyes wear red and she had run out of tears. She stared longingly at his face, waiting for his eyes to open. She closed her eyes, letting her mind drift back to her fantasies of them being together.

He gingerly brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. His fingers ran down the side of her face then slowly tracing her lips. "Vala..." He whispered, a smile began to sweep across her face. It felt so real to her, as if he was really saying her name, as if his fingers were really moving slowly across her face. She lifted her hand to her face, touching where she had imagined his fingers were.

Her eyes shot open when she felt someone's fingers on her face. She looked down at Daniel to see his eyes slightly open. He blinked a couple of times before fully focusing on Vala.

"Vala…" he said again hoarsely, his hand falling from her face from exhaustion.

"Daniel!" She screamed, almost falling out of her chair. "Sh-should I get one of the nurses? Are you okay? Do you remember anything? Are you hurting? Do you need anything?" She asked in rapid fire. He smiled slightly and let out a little chuckle, letting his eyes close.

"I'm okay…Water would be nice though. You look exhausted." Vala literally leapt from her chair and ran to the other side of the room, pouring Daniel a cup of water. She walked carefully back to his bed, placing the cup up to his lips. She helped him lift his head as she saw him struggle to do so. As he finished his head fell back on the pillow heavily.

He scooted his upper body over, making room for Vala to lie next to him. He patted the side of the bed. "Have you slept at all?"

"No…" She answered looking at the floor in embarrassment. There Daniel was again, worrying about her and not himself. She hates looking as if she needs help. She doesn't want him to feel that he has to worry for her; she can take care of herself. Though, the thought of someone caring and worrying about her felt nice, felt…loving.

"Vala?" Daniel asked, his voice quiet, as if he was afraid that she might break if he spoke too loud.

"I've been so worried about you, Daniel." She answered, slowly looking into his ice blue eyes. She regretted doing so as soon as she did. Any chance of her keeping herself together was completely thrown out the window as soon as she looked at his eyes. They were big, full of concern, nervousness and somehow, understanding, all at the same time. It was as if he understood her completely. She broke down into tears, flinging her arms around him. She stayed that way for a moment, and then pulled away, wiping her eyes. "You ever put me through this again I will leave you stranded on some deserted planet."

Daniel laughed and patted the side of his bed again. As Vala looked at the welcoming bed and the perfect man laying in it, she suddenly felt completely drained and exhausted.

Vala gently lowered herself down, moving his legs over slightly. "Your legs..." She muttered softly as she looked up at him, realizing what she had just done. She had to move his legs for him, something she was dreading having to do.

"Probably the meds or something. Don't worry. I'll be fine." Daniel answered quickly, knowing that it wasn't true. He couldn't feel anything below his stomach. He was terrified but knew he couldn't let Vala know. She was hurting enough as it was.

Vala knew that he was lying. She could see it in his intense eyes. She stared into them, feeling drawn to them like two magnets. She leaned in and softly kissed his lips. "Get some sleep." She whispered before slowly pulling her lips away.

"You better too."

"You can't tell me what to do." She answered. Daniel was glad to see Vala slipping into her old self again. He liked, and hated, her annoying sense of humor and how she constantly argued with him and got under his skin. How she was able to do all that and still turn him on he hadn't quite figured out yet.

She nestled her head into his shoulder. Her arms were drawn tightly to her side, squished between her and Daniel. By the time they both fell into a deep, and well needed, sleep their legs had become intertwined. Vala's left arm was laying across Daniel's chest and her head was in the crook of his neck. Daniel's left arm was wrapped tightly and protectively around Vala's waist. His right hand was lying on top of Vala's hand on his chest. They fit together perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle.

**Hope you liked this new chapter...I wasn't sure if I should make Vala vulnerable or not. I mean, in the show we have seen her vulnerable side, but not really in-dept. I wanted to add more to her by showing her weak side, but I hope it wasn't too OOC...tell me what yea think. KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING...I need some suggestions as to what to do about Daniel's paralysis-ness...permanent or temp?? Tell me what you think I should do. I LOVE reading...and sometimes using...people's suggestions.  
~*mandyem92*~**


	9. Oh No!

**I feel really bad that I have to do this to you, BUUUUTTT....I'm going on vacation for a week in Virginia. I have a family reunion then camping for 6 days...**

**So that being said I won't be able to add a chapter till around the 16th-ish...**

**REALLY REALLY SORRY.........but hopefully I'll get a nice long chapter up when i get home. I'll have lots of time to think about the chapter and actually write it especially since the car ride to Virginia is 6 FUCKING HOURS LONG!!! (I live in NY...)**

**Wish me luck! I have to survive an Italian family reunion and any of you who are Italian know what I mean...**

**...ppl u barely know hugging and kissing you...family members stickin their noses where they don't belong...older family members asking if you're dating someone or when you're going to get married or have kids...IT'S AWFUL but hilarious when it's happening to another family member and not you!!!**

**KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING!!!!!!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	10. A Burden

**Chapter 9: A Burden**

_Daniel stood still, staring at the house in front of him. Half way between him and the house stood Vala, with her back to him. She looked over her shoulder at him, grinning from ear to ear._

_"Well, are you coming Daniel or are you seriously going to make me wait?"_

_"No, I'm going to make you wait for an eternity. Geez. I'm coming." He laughed._

_He stepped forward towards Vala. His foot sank into the paved walkway like it was made of quicksand. He yanked and pulled without success._

_"Whatever. Fine. I'll be inside waiting. Don't make me waste my life away waiting for you." She said, shaking her head and walking towards the house._

_"No. Wait!" He shouted after her. He watched as she closed the door behind her. Suddenly the house began fading away. He picked his foot out of the ground and placed it in front of him, praying that the ground was solid there. The foot sank again and was pulled back by an unseen force back to where it was before. He tried this over and over again, each time he ended up standing in place, never moving an inch closer to where the house was._

_He was stuck. His legs were pinned to their spot. He couldn't walk._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

He couldn't walk. This was the first thought that came to his mind as his body lazily dragged itself away from the grips of sleep and into the consciousness. He shook away the cobwebs inside his head the pain killers had left behind. He struggled to remember everything that had happened. Memories that were once blurred together from the drugs began to short themselves out. As he relived the past two days events one phrase that he had spoken continued to play in his mind, like background music to a documentary.

_I love you._

With that one thought his eyes shot open and his whole body was awake. Looking down he saw black tentacles of hair spewed across his chest.

He lifted his left hand and gentle pushed the hair behind Vala's ear. He smiled as he saw how relaxed and comfortable she was. The thought of him ruining that struck him like a baseball bat to the stomach. His dream came back to him. I thought of how she'd waste her life away waiting for him to get better or taking care of him. The fact that he was paralyzed hit him with full force this time.

_Never able to walk. Run. Go through the stargate. What about Vala?_ His mind began running in circles, repeating the last question.

_A burden. _He thought, shaking his head. _Nothing but a burden. Who wants to take care of someone for the rest of their life?_

"What are you thinking about Love?"

He was startled by the tired but soft voice of Vala. He looked down at her, seeing that she had her arms crossed on his chest and her chin resting on her arms. She looked like a little child getting ready to be told a story. Full of anticipation and innocence.

"Nothing." He smiled softly.

"Bullshit." She said with a laugh. Her smile dropped as she saw the look on Daniel's face. His eyes didn't shine with that sort of passion and determination they always did. There was a wall built up around that. He was holding back and it read in his eyes.

"What? You're not considering taking back what you said earlier? I understand if you are. I mean, you've had time to really think about it now. I mean, it was heated moment, and you weren't thinking with your head..."

"I was thinking with my heart. That should be more than enough to convince you that I meant what I said. With every fiber of my being. I would never take that back. It's just…It can't work…us I mean." He hated lying to her. He knew it would work. Actually, he knew their relationship would be stronger than ever before. If it wasn't for his legs.

She let out a nervous giggle. "What do you mean? We work together already. Daniel…"

"It'll change the relationship we have. If it doesn't work, we won't be able to work together. They'll make one of us switch teams, ruin the team we have going already. And they'll move you most likely. And I don't think, no offense, that someone else could handle you."

"Handle me? We'll discuss what that means later. Daniel. We have worked for the relationship we have. Nothing will change that. But you know as well as I do that that little speech you just made was complete and utter crap. You're not worried about team dynamic or breaking up. You're running because you're afraid of something. Worried about something. What are you hiding?"

There was a long silence. Vala stared intensely into Daniel's eyes, her eyes sparkling with determination.

"I…don't want to be…forget it." He finally answered softly. Almost too softly for anyone to hear.

"What?" Vala looked totally confused. She's never heard him hold back before, especially with her.

She placed her hands gently yet forcefully on both sides of Daniel's face, pulling his attention- which had averted to his lap- back to her face.

"You can tell me anything. Anything. Don't worry, you'll walk again. I had a BRILLIANT idea while I was sleeping." She finished with a smile, glad she was able to change the subject and hopefully get Daniel's mind away from what he was considering before.

"Oh no." He said as he rolled his eyes. "Listen Vala. There is nothi-"

"A healing device.' She cut him off excitedly.

"We don't have one." He answered quickly, hoping that would end the conversation. Knowing Vala as well as he did he didn't like where this was going.

"But I still have a few connections. I can get one."

"Vala…"

"Nope. Don't Vala me." She said as she jumped out of the bed and began walking towards the door. "I'll go contact him now."

"Vala…" Daniel said as if warning a child who's about to do something they know they're not supposed to. The kid always does it anyway, and with a conniving smile on the entire time. To compare Vala to a child is pretty accurate.

She walked out of the room with a slight skip to her gait. Daniel slumped back down onto his pillow, closing his eyes in frustration. He heard her footsteps get softer than louder again. She had turned around and walked back into his room.

"You finally gonna listen to me? You shouldn't be-" Daniel asked without opening his eyes.

"Nope. I just forgot something." She cut him off, not interested in another one of his lectures.

"What?" He asked, finally opening his eyes and looking around for something that belonged to Vala. When he looked back towards her direction is what at the side of his bed already, her face dangerously close to his.

"Vala." He said quietly as her lips brushed against his.

"Hmmm. I like it when you say my name. She whispered seductively. She hungrily kissed Daniel as if eventually his lips would some how dissolve underneath her.

Daniel let his fingers run through her hair, deepening the kiss as their tongues explored each others mouths. Vala pulled away slowly, holding Daniel back as he tried to lean forward and follow her lips. She bit at his lower lip, smiling with satisfaction at the fact that Daniel practically melted at her touch.

When she finally pulled away and sat back Daniel was shaking his head.

"Boy, that's one way to win an argument." He smiled up her, letting his hand run down the side of her bare arm, leaving goose bumps in it's wake. "You better get the okay from Landry before you start contacting possible enemies."

"Enemies? All my old friends love me. Well, maybe not all. This one does. Unless he remembers the time I ripped him off by selling him a worthless necklace that I told him was a power source."

"Oh I'm sure he's just dying to see you then." Daniel said sarcastically.

As Vala left to go talk to Landry Daniel began thinking about how much she, and their relationship, had changed and at the same time, stayed the same. Dr. Lam walked in Daniel's thoughts drifted to an artifact he hadn't finished studying before the mission.

"Deep in thought already?"

"Aren't I always? Listen, is it possible to get some stuff from my room brought over here?"

"Of course. How's the pain?" Dr. Lam asked after writing down the things Daniel wanted from his room and where they were.

"Nonexistent." He answered, sounding almost saddened by the good fortune of not feeling any discomfort.

"Well, that might change once the pain killers wear off. You'll probably feel some pain in your ribs since two were broken as well as your lower and upper back. How are your legs."

"Nonexistent." He answered again.

"Can't feel them or move them?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"Well, we'll wait a half an hour till the drugs wear off. You could gain some movement or feeling that the drugs are just dulling. But I have to tell you Daniel, the damage to your lower body is extensive. Not to mention the nerve and muscle damage from being pinned down for so long. I hope you understand the odds of you walking again are slim to none."

"I know…" He said as he dropped his head as if he was ashamed to look at Carolyn.

"But hey," She started off, tempting to lift his spirits, though she knew it would be nothing but false hope. "You may, over time, gain feeling and some repaired nerves n your legs. You'll be confined to a wheelchair but you could possible be able to feel pressure, temperature, touch and other sensations in your legs."

"Lucky me."

"Daniel…you're alive, that's all that matters. Lets take it one step at a time. We got you home safely. Who knows, maybe you'll be make some miraculous recovery and you'll be walking with braces or arm-braced crutches."

"And what? Drag my feet under me while I use my arms to walk? That's not walking. And only for a short distance? How can I function and do the things I used to like that. And as lucky as I've been this past years, you know as well as I do that no such miraculous recovery will ever happen. I will never get better enough to walk with those crutches or braces!" He snapped back, irritated not at Dr. Lam but the situation.

"I know Daniel. Just, don't lose faith. It's something to shoot for, right? I'll come back in a bit to check you again and I'll bring dinner, okay?" Dr Lam said quickly, turning around and walking out the room as she wiped her eyes that had begun to tear while she was listening to Daniel break down."

Daniel felt unbelievable guilty immediately. Already he was causing people pain and being a burden. He let his frustration get the best of him, something he doesn't let happen often.

(15 minutes later)

"Hey Danny!" a voice echoed through the room. Daniel didn't bother to look up from his book he was searching to know who it was."

"Jack, don't call me Danny." He answered back as he copied another sentence onto a pad in front of him.

"Doing work? You should be milking the situation for all it's worth. You need some good vanilla hospital pudding. The best in the world."

"We're not in a hospital Jack." Daniel retorted, finally looking up from his work. He closed the book and motioned for his friend, who was leaning against the door frame, to come in.

"Oh that's right. I forgot. Seems to be happening often." Jack said with a smile and a laugh. He patted his friend's shoulder and asked him how he was doing.

"Okay I guess. I still can't wrap my head around the idea of not being able to walk again. It's a bit scary, actually." Daniel suddenly felt the need to open up and he knew that Jack was the one person he could do so with. Daniel was never the type of person who kept his emotions bottled up inside, he always voiced them.

"Daniel. Listen…You don't have to go through this alone. It won't be so scary if you let us help you. Don't shut us out."

"I won't. I just don't want to be a burden."

"A burden? To who?" Jack scrunched his eyes, trying to think of someone that Daniel was talking about. He already knew from talking to Vala that Daniel shut down on her, so he assumed he was talking about her. And he was right.

"You guys. Vala most of all."

"Oh please. Vala's too in love with you to see you as a burden. Really Danny? You of all people should see that. Not to mention you should know by now that when someone else is hurt, people pulled together. A group can't function if they can't help each other. None of us would ever see you as a _burden._"

"Jack. I can't even take care of myself. The pain killers are starting to wear off and I can't feel anything past my waist. NOTHING!" His voice reaching new levels of aggravation. Daniel knew as soon as he finished the sentence that he had went overboard. He knew damn well that he let his frustration get the best of him, again. Thankful he also knew that Jack was the last person that would be hurt by his yelling. Jack would take it and pretend that it never happened, or just yell right back.

"Daniel. Vala would take care of you. Granted she may take advantage, but honestly, you're too damn stubborn to not find a way to do almost everything by yourself. You'll be able to function without her to some degree." Jack tried to keep his voice down but struggled. It raised with not anger but passion as he struggled to get Daniel to understand. He knew that his support would only push Daniel so far in the right direction. Jack couldn't be consoled by anyone when Charlie died. He had to work through it on his own.

"Promise me you won't get through this on ALL your own. Talk to her. How do you think you'll have a relationship, a meaningful one, if you can't open up to her."

"When did you become so…smart?"

"Hey! I've always been smart. Besides, I've learned a few things from my time with you and Sam." Jack said defensively.

"I don't think I should date Vala. I mean, again, she'll have to take care of me. She deserves so much better. Plus co-workers working together never seem to work. And isn't it against some set of rules or code of conduct or something?"

"Boy aren't you just full of excuses now? Come on, seriously? Why do you have to make everything difficult? Just give it a shot and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work."

"First off, I'm not try-"

"Yes you are." Jack said, cutting off Daniel.

"Why does everyone keep doing that to me!?" Daniel yelled, more in irritation then anger, as he threw his hands up.

"Ha! It's just so damn easy. Listen, I got to go talk to Sam. I'll see you in a little bit? We'll eat dinner together?"

"Yeah yeah." Daniel answered. Jack let out a chuckle and left.

"Hey Vala. I prepped him for you. Your welcome." Daniel heard Jack say as he left the room. Seconds later Vala walked into the room. She threw her head in the direction of the door and asked, "What was that about?"

"Nothing. Listen, Vala. About before. I wanted to say…I don't want to be a burden. I mean, you deserve so much more. So much. I don't want you tied down because of me. You deserve someone who can take care of themselves…"

"Daniel. You're not a quad-ra-pa-leg-ic."

"It's pronounced quad-ra-pa-lee-gic." Daniel corrected her without hesitation.

"Whatever. Listen, you don't have anything to worry about. Landry okayed me contacting my friend. He'll send me and the rest of SG-1 to go get it."

"Are you serious?"

"Have you ever known me to lie?" Vala said, quickly adding, "Don't answer that."

Daniel began laughing, letting his head fall back on the pillow. It was the first time since the accident that he felt at ease. When he finally stopped laughing he looked over at Vala who was now sitting next to his bed in a chair, her feet propped up on the bed.

"And, you know." She said slowly and almost meekly. "Even if he hadn't, I would have stayed with you. I'm not letting you go. No matter what. And nothing you say otherwise will change my mind." She swung her legs off the bed dramatically and leapt off the chair. She leaned over so her nose was almost touching Daniel's.

"Now, I came in here to talk to you about that 'handle me' comment. I'll have you know that I can be very well behaved when I want to, which isn't often. And the only person I want 'handling' me is yo-"

Daniel cut her off by practically lunged forward, forcefully yet passionately attacking her lips with his. They continued their face-paced and rough kissing as Vala made her way onto the bed, her knees straddling him. This time it was Vala who was melting under his touch, letting him dominate every move.

His hands slowly moved across to her hips. His thumbs rubbed against the bottom of her stomach. Her whole body quivered. "Daniel." She moaned, her voice hitched as his thumb began moving lower on her hip. They broke away quickly for air and went back to kissing, this time not as fast and hungrily, but slow and passionate. Vala's hands quickly moved across Daniel's chest under his shirt, savoring the feeling of his hot skin underneath hers. She slowly traced over ever muscle line. She felt like her whole body was on fire. She leaned closer to him, making it so she was almost completely laying on him. Daniel's one hand stayed planted on her hip while the other one worked its way up her back.

"Wow, hey, keep it PG you guys. I'm not sure Carolyn has cleared you for that kind of activity yet." Jack shouted as he walked into the room, now wishing he had knocked. Vala reluctantly pulled away, pouting at Jack. "You know, you're ruining all my fun, fun sucker." Sam, Teal'c and Cam walked in, each with a cart full of food from the cafeteria.

"So, you guys finally together?" Cam asked, which he realized was a stupid question once he saw that Vala was sitting on Daniel, her hand underneath his shirt and on his chest, causing Daniel's lower abs to be showing.

"By the way they were sucking face at would say yes." Jack answered for them with a little smile.

Daniel noticed Cam's raised eyebrows and that he was trying to point to Vala with his eyes. Daniel leaned forward and whispered in Vala's ear, "We'll, uhm, finish this later. But you might want to move right now."

Vala blushed as she realized what a, compromising, position she and Daniel were in. Sam tried but failed miserable to hold back a laugh as she watched Vala slowly and awkwardly move off of Daniel and into the chair next to the bed.

As they ate dinner, Vala never let go of Daniel's hand. She planned on never letting him go. At least till she went to go get the healing device.

**_ANYONE FIND A BONES REFERENCE? It's one of my other obsessions and I thought I'd add one of their on-going jokes in this one...if you can't figure it out then just scroll down a little...._**

**_Big thanks goes to "Rac80" for the best suggestion so far. I used their idea in this chapter. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!_**

**Hey! I finally got a long-ish chapter! It was actually supposed to be 2 but I decided to be nice and mush them together. I hope the little humor here and there that I threw in wasn't too much. I tried to get Vala back into character. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. Keep the reviews coming! Motivation is the best way to get a writer to well, write. Next chapter is already written and I'm just typing it, so expect it to be up any minute now. Sorry, but it's much, much shorter than this one. Actually, it's extremely short…SORRY!!!**

**~*mandyem92*~**

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**Vanilla Pudding...Booth and Hodgins both think that hospital vanilla pudding is the best...if u've seen the episode w/ Bone's getting kidnapped u'd totally understand...**


	11. Sylvester vs Tweetie

**Chapter 10: Sylvester vs. Tweetie**

…:One day later:…

Vala and the rest of SG-1, except Daniel of course, stepped into the beating sun of P4X-726 and towards an open field. The slight breeze cooled off any heat from the sun.

The grass was thick and green, swaying rhythmically in the wind. To the left and right of the field wild tall flowers of every shape and color grew, all mixed together. A few cotton ball clouds dotted the perfectly clear and blue sky above them.

A huge hawk-like bird glided down, landing in the closest tree to the Stargate. It looked just like a hawk except for the fact that it was bright robin's egg blue and was about the size of a crow. It tilted its head, staring questioningly at the intruders.

Every inch of the planet was like a paradise. Every direction you looked there were lush green trees, a village here and there, exotic flowers carpeting the grass and unique animals roaming freely.

A perfect paradise. Except for the clunker of a spaceship that was park directly in the middle of the open field. It looked like something out of a doom's day movie. Dark and towering with sharp corners and only one window in the front. It was black and grey with thick metal bolts in rows, and a steel trim around the single window.

A single door on the side was opened like a gullwing door of a Lamborghini, straight upwards on a hinge. Next to the open door, leaving against the reflexive metal stood a tall, broad shouldered man with beady black eyes and ash colored hair that fell slightly past his eye lashes. His perfectly chiseled chin stuck out slightly as he leaned his head backwards.

He could have a cute boyish look to him if it wasn't for his dark eyes that burn right through anyone that gets in the way of what he desires.

To say him and his ship stood out like a sore thumb was an understatement. It looked like an omen of disaster for the planet, like dark storm clouds on a perfect day.

He stuck out more than a poodle with a French hair cut and pink bows lined up next to a swamp, standing in line with hunting mutts. Though, comparing him to a poodle is the worst comparison possible. A poorly bred and trained Pit-bull would be more fitting. Even the aggression and bite matched. Yes, Payson Arrow was a human pit-bull.

Vala walked over to him, standing tall and holding her shoulders back with determination and confidence. She could care less about his reputation or those "killing" eyes that everyone whispers about and says that they're the eyes that haunt you in your nightmares. She knew it was complete bull-crap.

"Payson. Its been awhile. How have you been? Business still going good?"

"It is now. Though I lost my best customer when I tried to sell him that piece of crap necklace you sold me." He pushed himself off the ship and picked up brief-case looking box.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I had no idea. How was I supposed to know the man I stole it from was lying when he told me it was a valuable power source?" Vala said nonchalantly.

"Lying isn't your strong point, you know? Whatever. Water under the bridge, right? I've learned that your word isn't worth crap. Prove me wrong, show me what you brought."

Cam, who had focused his gun on Payson's knees from the beginning, nodded to Sam who brought a box over to Vala. She placed it between Vala and Payson and pried it open. Inside was pure Naquada.

Payson peered inside, a look of slight approval on showed on his face. He leaned over to pick one of the containers up but Vala pushed the top closed and stomped her foot on top of it.

"And your half of the deal?" She asked as she tapped the foot that was on the crate.

He popped open the container he was holding. Inside was a single Goa'uld healing device. Vala removed her foot slowly as Payson handed her the container. Before moving away Vala slipped it on her hand and watched as it glowed.

Payson's lip curled a little as he saw that Vala was satisfied with the device. His eyes stared coldly as he watched her put it back in the container.

"Well, we'll be off. After you go inside your ship."

"And why is that?"

"Because I don't trust you to not shoot me in the back."

"Now Vala, I'm offended that you think so little of me. If I wanted to shoot you I'd shoot you face to face so I could watch the life slowly drain out of your eyes." He said with a toothy grin.

"This guy is like a serial killer in the making if he isn't one already." Cam whispered to Sam as Vala came walking back, backwards of course.

"You trust him not to shoot us?" Sam asked as Vala came up to her.

"Nope, that's why one of you should walk backwards with me and keep a gun trained on him."

"I vote Teal'c" Cam said as he started walking back towards the gate, not waiting for Teal'c to agree. They reached the gate just as Payson was climbing into his ship. He took off as the wormhole activated.

"So," Cam said to Vala right before he stepped through the gate, "You guys are friends?"

Vala stepped through after him. As she stepped onto the ramp she answered him. "We're kind of like Sylvester and Tweetie."

"Ah. So, who's who?"

"I'm easily Tweetie, the annoying yet cunning bird. Payson is without a doubt the dumb, short-sighted cat who doesn't realize he'll never catch me."

_Preview of next chapter:_

"Did Sylvester just win?" Cam asked as he saw the shocked look on Vala's face.

"Sylvester didn't just catch the bird, he ate poor Tweetie whole." Sam whispered back, walking towards Vala.

"No…you're wrong…" tears started to pour down Vala's face. "This can not be happening..." Vala muttered as she looked down at Daniel.

_TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!_

**This chapter in all honesty isn't really important...but I thought I'd add it anyway. The reason why I added that little preview thingy was because...well, because I just felt like it. If you want me to keep doing that, tell me! I'd love to because it helps motivate me to write the next chapter. KEEP ON REVIEWING!!!!**

**Hope you liked...the next chapter is still in the works so u'll have to give me some time. Plus I have band camp all this week, 9-12, so who knows if I'll even have time to add to it...hope I do though...Oh and in case ur wondering, which most of u probably aren't, I play the french horn, 1st chair!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	12. Reality Realized

**For those of you who actually read the beginning and end little author notes you'd know I have band camp this week. But I lied; it was actually from 8 to 12:30. And yes, an extra hour and a half in the boiling sun marching with a French horn to Jump, You Give Love a Bad Name and Come Sail Away DOES make a difference! An extra 10 minutes makes a difference. So, I've been sleeping as soon as I get home, which is why it took me so long to get this chapter up. SORRY! Anyway, here it is!!!**

**Chapter 11: ****Reality Realized**

**four hours after they left the SGC**

As they left the locker room, dressed back in the regular clothes and their quick debriefing over with, they all walked quickly to Daniel's room, Vala leading the pack. They reached the door just as Doctor Lam was closing it.

"If you think you're going to try that healing device now, you better just walk away now."

"What? Why? The sooner we can hea-" Cam was cut off by Dr. Lam's obviously annoyed and irritated voice.

"He just fell asleep. He's had a rough few hours since you guys left. The pain killers aren't numbing the pain and he doesn't want a sedative like I gave him straight out of surgery."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Beats me. You can ask him AFTER he wakes up. He needs his sleep."

"Was he in a lot of pain?" Vala finally spoke up, her voice not as strong as she tried to make it sound.

"Vala…" Dr. Lam hesitated, debating whether or not to tell Vala the truth. The truth was, Daniel was in immense amount of pain. It killed Dr. Lam to see her friend hurting so much. They tried continuously to get him as comfortable as possible, but the pain in his ribs and lower back were making it hard. Every time they shifted him to ease the pain in his ribs he'd cry out in pain from his back. Dr. Lam offered, more than once, to knock him out, but each time he quickly answered that he passed on them, which made no sense to her at all.

"…yes." She instantly regretted telling her the truth as she saw her eyes begin to water. Dr. Lam opened Daniel's door and took Vala's hand. "You can sit with him, if you'd like. Just, don't wake him up. When he does wake up, call me. If he's in pain, press the button above his bed, it'll release painkiller through his IV." Vala yanked her hand out of Dr. Lam's, giving her a cold look.

"You should have made him take the medicine, not let him suffer. Why would you listen to him?!" Vala walked straight to Daniel's bed side, seating herself in the same chair she had already spent hours in.

Dr. Lam closed the door after Vala, hesitating a minute before turning around to face Teal'c, Sam and Mitchell. "I'm glad you were able to get the healing device. He's, uhm, not going to be able to walk without it. There's no other way to fix the damage….He'd be paralyzed forever without it. He'll be relieved to hear that you were successful. "

"You should be telling Vala this, not us. She's the one that got the device."

"I know." She glance back through the window of the door, watching Vala get comfortable in the chair, holding onto Daniel's hand. "I just, don't think she's in the mood to talk…to me at least."

"She's just stressed out. Vala is never this way, you should know that."

"I do. Believe me, I understand. I just…feel awful to having to be the one to tell her everything negative. I just want to be able to tell her something good, something that will pull her out of the dumps." Dr. Lam shook her head in disappointment and walked away before anyone got the chance to console her. She sat in her office for the next few hours, waiting for Daniel to wake up.

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Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, trying to push himself back into sleep. As his senses woke up he felt the dull aches and pains in his lower back and ribs intensify. He reluctantly threw his arm above his head, looking for the button that Dr. Lam had told him about.

After slapping his hand around for a few seconds he successful found it and pressed it, letting his eyes focus on the clear liquid drip slowly down the IV. It was at that time that he finally became aware of someone holding his other hand and a light pressure on his arm.

He glanced down at a mop of black hair spewed across his arm, Vala's forehead resting lightly on his arm. A slight smile flashed across Daniel's face before the thought of Vala being exhausted wiped it away. A sudden pang of guilt hit him as he fought with the realization that Vala was worn out from caring and worrying for him.

"Vala…" He whispered softly, expecting it to slowly rouse her from her slumber. The reaction he got instead was both comical and surprising.

"Wh-What!" Vala jumped out of her chair as if awoken by someone slapping her face. She tiredly rubbed her eyes, looking down at Daniel who was unsuccessful holding back his smirk. He groaned suddenly, as a light wave of pain hit him. _Damn meds don't do enough. I need ones that make me feel NOTHING!_

Vala quickly stepped out of her sleep-state and a face of someone who had just caught someone in a lie covered her face.

"Why the hell did you refuse the stronger medicine?! Are you completely insane! Did you lose some brain-cells when those damn rocks fell on you!?!" Vala screeched.

"I…wanted to talk to you."

"So…?" Vala was still fuming but now she was confused as well.

"The stronger the drugs, the less I feel. But at the same time, I would become less aware of my surrounds, less coherent and, lets face it, I'd be out of it."

"You'd rather be in pain and spend time with me, then comfortable?" She let her mask of frustration drop for a second, exposing a coy, and flattered smile line her face. "Well, that was a stupid decision." She added with a roll of her eyes.

"But I appreciate it." She added as she kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Vala, when this is all over with…" Daniel hesitated for a second. "What's going to be the next step for us?" He asked, glancing up at Vala, his eyes shining with intensity.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to live at the SGC forever. You'll have to invite me to move in with you." She said, ending with her finger nudging Daniel in the chest.

"Well, then Vala, would you like to move in with me?"

"Why, I thought you'd never ask! I'll have to think about it of course. I mean, you've taken me completely by surprise." She stopped and looked at the ceiling, and began squinting as someone would if they were searching for the perfect answer to an impossible question.

"Thought enough yet?" Daniel asked sarcastically.

"Shh! You can't rush these kinds of decisions." She waved her hand at him, not bothering to make eye contact. "Okay, I will." She answered a few seconds later. She leaned down and kissed him again, more passionately and thought out than before. Daniel tried desperately to hide his cringe as he felt a ping of pain run down his upper spine.

Vala looked into his eyes, seeming them tightly closed and became concerned. She stroked Daniel's cheek, waiting patiently for the pain to subside. When it finally did she kissed him softly on the forehead and patted his hand encouragingly like a mother would to a child who was hesitant to get on their bike for the first time.

"Now, let's start the healing process. I'll go get Dr. Lam." She practically ran, as he let out an audible groan.

"Come on, right now?" Daniel whined like a child.

"Yes." Vala answered as she flew out the door.

She came back a minute later with Dr Lam and the rest of SG-1 in tow.

Vala slid her hand into the device, watching with eager eyes as it began to glow. She shuffled to Daniel's side and placed the device over his body. Daniel closed his eyes, not wanting to think about what the device was doing to his insides.

Suddenly a sharp pain ran down Daniel's spin all the way to his toes. His hips began to burn in pain, the shooting continually running the length of his legs. He bit his lip, praying that it would disappear. He opened his eyes which had begun to water in time to see the device begin to flash.

The pain was becoming unbearable. He let out a painful moan and gripped the side of the bed. The device abruptly stopped, leaving Vala confused and panicked.

"The device seems to be non-functional." Teal'c said before Daniel yet out a yell of pain.

"Did Sylvester just win?" Cam turned and whispered into Sam's ear as he saw the shocked look on Vala's face. Sam blinked rapidly, as if she was just imagining that the device was broken.

"No…you're wrong…It'll start again" tears started to pour down Vala's face. "This can not be happening..." Vala muttered as she looked down at Daniel. She squeezed her hands tighter around the device, staring at it with fiery eyes, praying she could get it to work again. She clamped her eyes closed and focused on the device in her hands. It wasn't a device anymore. _Just a clump of metal_.

She threw open her eyes and flung the device across the room. She was pulled out of the tantrum she was about to throw by Daniel's screams. He gripped his legs as if he wanted to pull them off. His face was contorted in pain; his screams of agony vibrated off the walls, echoing in everyone's ears…Vala's louder than others.

Realization; an invisible force that sucks the air out of the room and then wraps its slimy, clay-like fingers around your chest, making it impossible to breath. It fills your head with nothingness, causing you to become dizzy and confused. It's one of those pills that's impossible to swallow but you know exactly what it tastes like before it even hits your tongue. The bad after taste of reality.

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PREVIEW OF NEXT CHAPTER!!!

Dr. Lam stared at Daniel till his body became completely limp. She turned, expecting to face Vala. Instead she saw the tops of everyone's heads as they leaned over to comfort and hug Vala, who had collapsed on the floor, her face buried deep in her hands.

**Please keep the reviews coming. I absolutely love them!!!**

**I ****KNOW**** I cut out a line from the preview of the next chapter…I didn't like the way it sounded…it just didn't…fit**

**I know, again, this chapter was unbelievable short. But I needed it as a kind of transition to the next chapter which is almost done and it's the chapter I've been DYING to write. It's been killing me that it's taking so long to get to MY favorite part of the plot but I didn't want to rush the story.**

**The one thing I hate about some of the fanfictions is that people rush to get into the action scenes and the climax of the story. I will never be that writer, sorry to those who like stories like that. **

**See that **_**gorgeous**_** little green button on the bottom of this page? CLICK IT! YOU KNOW YOU WANNA…! **

**~*mandyem92*~**


	13. How long has it been?

**OKAY, so I know it's been WAAAAYYYY to long since I last posted but I'm suffering the longest stint of writers block I've ever suffered from. If anyone knows a good cure please tell me!!!!!!**

**I'm really trying to work on the next chapter but with 11th grade just starting, marching band, writers block and whatnot have all caused my to fall behind in my duties to you readers and I offer you my sincere apology. **

**BUUUTTT...I am still working on it so don't think I'm just gonna leave it the way it is. :)**

**I am posting a Warehouse 13 story that came to two nights about 11. I was really hoping to get hit with a Stargate idea but I guess my mind is working against me...**

**PLEASE KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING AND I PROMISE THERE WILL BE A NEW CHAPTER SOON!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	14. Unknown

**Need some help thinking of a title for this chapter...PLEASE HELP ME! Oh, and any suggestions for how to handle the next chapter please please please e-mail them to me...I'd love to hear them and hopefully use them...send them to **

** Sorry I've waited SOOOO long to post, I've been suffering from serious writers-block thanks to the dreaded Junior year homework.... :)**

Chapter 12: Unknown

"God damn it! Payson gave us a fucking faulty healing device!" Cam yelled, slamming his hand on a nearby tray that was sitting on a table, catapulting its contents across the room. Sam looked frantically over at Dr. Lam, her eyes pleading at her to stop Daniel's pain. Dr. Lam quickly ran over to Daniel's side an administered the sedative, not bothering to ask Daniel if he wanted to refuse it again. She knew he wouldn't. He was in pain before, but not like this.

Dr. Lam stared at Daniel till his body became completely limp. She turned, expecting to face Vala. Instead she saw the tops of everyone's heads as they leaned over to comfort and hug Vala, who had collapsed on the floor, her face buried deep in her hands.

"No, no, no!!!!" She could hear Vala screaming through her hands.

"Vala…" She felt like her words would just drift past her ears, not able to penetrate the guilt and pain she was feeling. "Vala, listen to me…please." Her pleading words did nothing but remove the mournful silence in the room.

Dr. Lam walked over to Daniel and began looking him over. She stared blankly at his legs.

"Carolyn? What's wrong?" Cam whispered as he walked over to Daniel's bed.

"He should not have been in that much pain. He wasn't able to feel anything below his hips before. I just…I don't get it. Unless the device healed him enough to repair his nervous system in his legs and some of his back…I don't know if the device can heal specific parts of the body like that. I thought it healed all or nothing. I…I just…" She shook her head in confusion, trying to grasp why Daniel had suddenly gained such a greater sensation in his legs.

"You think he's healed?" A look of shock and slight happiness flew across Cam's pale and drawn face.

"I want to say yes, but for all I know the device could have just been causing him pain, period, end of story, not actually helping him."

"Ignore the fact that we just used it. If this was a regular case, what would you say?"

"I would say his back was healing and that the nerves in his legs were repairing themselves. The nerves in his lower back to his legs were completely destroyed and in theory, if he's feeling pain then the nerves within the lower half of the sciatic nerve are to some extent healed and able to send synapses again, but with all the damage that was done it's not poss-" She was cut off by Cam placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Carolyn, look at where you are. Last time I checked there was no such thing as the "impossible." So maybe the device did do that. We don't know. For now, treat him like you would any other patient. And tell Vala that she helped him. She's so stuck on the fact that she caused him pain. Help her."

Teal'c silently walked out of the room and towards General Landry's office. He stiffly knocked on the closed office door and waited to be given entrance.

"Come in." The General's voice answered shortly after the knock.

"General Landry. I would like to go have a word with Payson."

"About the device?" He knew he really didn't have to ask, but he might as well. With Teal'c you never know.

"Indeed. I believe he needs to be aware of the situation at hand." Teal'c stated matter-of-factly.

"About what exactly? Actually, I think the better question is; will he be breathing afterwards?" He asked jokingly, but some part of him was honestly slightly concerned that Payson might not be walking after Teal'c's conversation with him. Not that he particularly cared about the scum-bag's feelings.

"He is well aware that the device which he gave to us was not functioning properly. I feel that the Naquada we gave him should be retrieved."

"Teal'c…" Landry sighed, not knowing whether to be revengeful as he wanted to be and send Teal'c off or be the 'serious' General he's supposed to be and tell Teal'c it would simply be a waste of time. He had to admit that though Daniel's pig-headedness and determination got under his skin at moments, he did care for him, as his boss and as a friend. "Be back in two hours." He said as he went back to the papers he was filling out, not really paying much attention to what he was writing.

**For those of you who are wondering, my favorite part is writing about Teal'c going after Payson. I don't know why, I just find an angry Teal'c so entertaining…**

**See that **_**gorgeous **_**little green button on the bottom of this page? CLICK IT! YOU KNOW YOU WANNA…!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


	15. Death's Home

**HoLy ShIt! Okay. I'm not going to lie. I completely forgot about this story. I actually had this chapter written a LOOOONNNNGGG time ago. I'm so so so so sorry that I've felt you all hanging for so long. Will you ever forgive me?**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND GIVE ME SOME MOTIVATION TO KEEP THIS GOING!**

**CHAPTER 15: DEATH'S HOME**

Teal'c walked through the Stargate and automatically struck backwards by confusion. The once flowered and lush planet looked like a wasteland. Death covered every part of the land, from the burnt trees to the crumbled mountains in the distance. Every way you turned your head you were confronted with a morbid scene of dust and ash. It was one of those overwhelming feelings that even when you closed your eyes, there was no escape.

Nothing was left. Nothing.

"Wanna know about this planet?" A voice from behind Teal'c said rather nonchalantly. Teal'c, pulled out of his daze, spins around quickly to face the voice, pointing his staff weapon and powering up, aiming it perfectly at Payson's face.

"Amuse me." Teal'c muttered, hoping to catch Payson off guard as he went into his story. Payson was leaning up against the gate, his arms crossed in front of him.

"This used to be my home planet. Spent my whole life here. My mom, Lydia, my sister, Piper and I owned a little store out in the center of the village. On day the god damn Goa'uld came and felt the need to take our town away. Most people abandoned the town while they still had access to the Stargate. My mom sent me and Piper first to some random planet. She promised to follow after us. She was killed, along with everyone else in my village that didn't make it through. The Goa'uld eventually abandoned this planet."

"Are you trying to evoke some sort of sympathy from me?"

"Yes. Is it working?"

"No."

"Damn. Well, since you're not falling for that and I'm assuming you're here because of the healing device. I'm gonna leave." He pulled from his pocket a sort of clicker. He pressed he button, revealing his ship standing only a few feet away. "In case you were wondering, the Naquada you gave me worked beautifully on a small scale, don't you think?" He asked as he walked to his ship backwards, his arms spread open towards the destroyed planet. Before he could reach the now open door of his ship Teal'c shot a blast from his staff weapon inches from Payson's face.

"Woah! What did I ever do to you to cause such hostility?" He said with a slight smirk on his face.

"You said it yourself. The device was faulty. I'm going to guess this will be an action you will most likely regret." Teal'c said, rather calmly, as usual.

"Yeah well you can tell Vala that pay back's a bitch. Tell her also that that's what she gets for cheating me out of my well earned cash two years ago. And if she doesn't remember tell her that Lyso is still looking for me to pay back _both_ of our shares. And you know what-'

Teal'c shot the device again, sick of hearing his voice, this time the blast barely grazed past the top of his head, scorching his spiked hair.

"HEY! What-" was all he was able to get out before Teal'c hit him across the face with the back of his staff weapon.

"Get up and fight." Teal'c grunted at the man sitting on his knees in front of him.

"Hey listen. I got a new healing device in the cabin of my ship. You can have it." Payson said, pulling himself to his feet.

A swift kick to the stomach made him stop and gasp for air, doubling over in pain. Teal'c gave him no time to catch his breath as he wrapped his large hands around his throat, slamming his body into the ship's haul.

"You should have thought twice when you gave ValaMalDuran the wrong device." He let go, only seconds later sweeping his leg at his feet, causing Payson to fall on his back. "Give me one good reason as to why I should not end your life at this moment." Teal'c asked, pushing his in-active staff weapon in Payson's face.

"Cuz if you use that thing now you'll ruin that lovely uniform of yours with my guts and blood." He said hesitantly, more as a question.

"Wrong answer" He activated the staff.

"Come on! Please! Listen, I'm sorry. Take the ship. The Naquada and device is inside. Please." He quivered like a scared Chihuahua under Teal'c cold glare.

"Coward." Teal'c spat, aiming his weapon at his knees and fired it. Payson's scream echoed through the barren wasteland.

"Good luck getting to the gate anytime soon." Teal'c muttered.

Payson's scream slowly died and for some reason Teal'c felt no sort of relief from the anger and pain boiling inside of him. He should have felt satisfied. Why should this man be allowed to live like a normal person while Daniel may never walk again?

Out of pure frustration Teal'c hit Patson over the head, knocking him unconscious. He stared at the man in front of him and though his weapon was aimed at him he couldn't get himself to fire it. The anger seemed that flame up inside when he first saw Payson died quickly. He wasn't sure if he was mad at himself or Payson. He told himself to let it all go, that though he wanted to blame Payson for everything he couldn't. He was angry at himself that he couldn't kill him and that his logic was overpowering his emotions.

He walked to the gate, Naquada tucked under one arm and the device in the other. Quickly dialing the gate he took one quick look at Payson's limp body before walking through the wormhole.

**Sadly I could not make Teal'c some meany or killer like I had originally planned. I kinda felt it didn't really hit him, especially as he spent more time at the SGC. I wish I could write another chapter but I'm actually having some serious nerve problems in my wrist (doc's think it's a pinched nerve) so typing right now is KILLING me...srry...**

******~*mandyem92*~**  



	16. Comfort

**Chapter 14- Comfort**

Vala finally took back her place at Daniel's side after she composed herself enough to pull herself together. One by one they each filed out, going off to their respective duties. Cam glanced quickly over his shoulder, making eye-contact with Dr. Lam. He smiled softly than left the room.

Carolyn walked over to Vala, sitting carefully on the edge of Daniel's bed, facing Vala as best she could.  
"Vala-"

"He still looks like he's in pain." Vala cut her off quietly.

Carolyn glanced at Daniel, his face tense and scrunched. She let out quiet sigh, running what she was going to say over and over again in her head. "Vala. I know this is going to be confusing to you, but believe me when I say the pain is good. It means he's gaining feeling in his legs again. It's a bit of a stretch but with therapy he has a chance of walking again. Please Vala, believe me when I say that what you did didn't hurt him."

There was a long, indefinite almost silence as Vala processed all Carolyn said.

"Are…are you…sure?" She mustered out between sniffles, wiping her eyes dry as she spoke.

"Yes." Dr. Lam answered with as much conviction as could produce. She hoped Vala believed her words because she herself was having a hard time doing so. She took Vala's hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. Vala looked into Carolyn's eyes, giving a weak smile in return. Dr. Lam stood up slowly, deciding it was probably best to give Vala some time alone with Daniel. With one quick glance back into the room, she left Vala alone in silence.

She began walking quickly towards her father's office, trying to avoid everyone. She was in no mood for fake formalities and greetings. She walked with her head down, focusing on her heels and the clicking as it they hit hard against the cold tiles, the sound echoing down the hollow hallways. She gasped as she practically head-butted a mass in front of her. She looked up and was greeted by Teal'c and his always awkward smile.

"Oh. I'm sorry Teal'c I was just…" She couldn't remember where she was going. She had been so focused on, well, nothing that she lost track of everything around her.  
"Yes?"

"Uhmm." She glanced around quickly, taking in her surrounding in an attempt to remember where she was going. "Oh! I'm on my way to General Landry's office. Yes, that's where I'm heading." She said, almost as a question. They both glanced around them at the hallway once more.

"Are you aware of the fact that you pace his office quite awhile back?"

"Yeah. I realize that now. Just deep in thought, you know?"

"No I do not." Tealc's said in all seriousness. There followed an awkward silence in which Dr. Lam felt as if she was under a microscope, Teal'c examining her sanity, or whatever was left of it. "I have another healing device." Teal'c finally said, breaking the silence.

"Oh. Well good. As soon as Daniel is rested I guess we'll try it again." She answered, stumbling slightly over her words.

"Okay." Teal'c said, beginning to walk away. As he reached the end of the hallway Dr. Lam shouted towards him.

"And Teal'c, don't tell Vala yet. Please." He nodded almost regally and continued walking, leaving Dr. Lam leaning against the wall, staring yet again at her heels. She heard the scuffing of shoes and the stomping for feet walking past her for quiet some time and she knew there were certainly strange glances directed her way from those passing, but she didn't care. She stood there for awhile, not a single thought really running through her head. Eventually her father finally popped into her head, and she turned sharply on her heels, walking back the way she came. She quickly filled him in on the device and Daniel, hurrying to get out of there and back to her office.

**Okay, not to make really lame excuses but I've been BEYOND BUSY!  
In case you don't know (I can't remember if I've ever mentioned this) but I'm a senior in High School and for the past few months I have been loaded down with applications and scholarships. On top of that I had carpal tunnel surgery in December and was unable to use the computer for awhile…**

**So that being said, I wrote as much as I could in between college tours and writing essays. I promise I'll post a longer (and probably better) chapter soon! I'm officially done with colleges and now am just waiting for my freshman year to start!**

**~*mandyem92*~**


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